egg-white and Rhinitis--Allergic--Seasonal

Peptide immunotherapy using T-cell epitopes is expected to be an effective treatment for allergic diseases such as Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica; Cj) pollinosis. To develop a treatment for pollen allergy by inducing oral tolerance, we generated genetically manipulated (GM) chickens by retroviral gene transduction, to produce a fusion protein of chicken egg white lysozyme and a peptide derived from seven dominant human T-cell epitopes of Japanese cedar pollen allergens (cLys-7crp). The transgene sequence was detected in all chickens transduced with the retroviral vector. Transduction efficiency in blood cells correlated to transgene expression. Western blot analysis revealed that cLys-7crp was expressed in the egg white of GM hens. Mice induced to develop allergic rhinitis by Cj pollinosis were fed with cLys-7crp-containing egg white produced by GM chickens. Total and Cj allergen (Cry j 1)-specific IgE levels were significantly decreased in allergic mice fed with cLys-7crp-containing egg white compared with allergic mice fed with normal egg white. These results suggest that oral administration of T-cell epitope-containing egg white derived from GM chickens is effective for the induction of immune tolerance as an allergy therapy.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Allergens; Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Base Sequence; Blotting, Western; Chick Embryo; Chickens; Cryptomeria; Egg White; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; Humans; Immunoglobulin E; Immunotherapy; Mice; Molecular Sequence Data; Muramidase; NIH 3T3 Cells; Pollen; Recombinant Fusion Proteins; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal; Treatment Outcome

Prick tests to milk and egg white were compared to clinical histories of sensitivity to these foods. Seventeen RAST-positive versus 17 RAST-negative controls were used. All 34 children and young adults were selected because they had atopic respiratory and/or dermal manifestations. Atopic eczema manifestations were present in 11 of the RAST-postive subjects and in two of the controls. Of these, nine had past history of egg white intolerance. Egg white challenge was associated with dermal reactions as follows: eczema in two, urticaria in two and angioedema in two. Positive clinical histories compared favorably (p less than 0.001) with prick tests for egg white but poorly (p greater than 0.05) for milk. Similarly, positive clinical histories compared significantly (p less than 0.001) with RAST for egg white but poorly (p greater than 0.05) for milk.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Allergens; Animals; Asthma; Cattle; Child; Eczema; Egg White; Female; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Immunoglobulin E; Male; Medical History Taking; Milk; Radioallergosorbent Test; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal; Skin Tests; Time Factors

Topics: Allergens; Animals; Antibodies; Asthma; Cats; Child; Child, Preschool; Dogs; Dust; Eczema; Egg White; Female; Fishes; Follow-Up Studies; Horses; Humans; Immunoglobulin E; Infant; Male; Milk; Pollen; Radioimmunoassay; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal; Skin Tests; Urticaria

Topics: Animals; Antibodies; Antibody Formation; Antigens; Asthma; Egg White; gamma-Globulins; Genes; Histocompatibility; Hypersensitivity; Immunization; Immunogenetics; Immunoglobulin E; Immunoglobulin G; Mice; Models, Biological; Penicillin G; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal

Topics: Agar; Allergens; Asthma; Chromatography; Chymotrypsin; Dermatitis, Atopic; Egg White; Electrophoresis; Gels; Glycoproteins; Hexosamines; Hexoses; Humans; Immune Sera; Immunochemistry; Immunoelectrophoresis; Muramidase; Neuraminic Acids; Ovalbumin; Proteins; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal; Skin Tests; Starch; Trypsin; Trypsin Inhibitors